Michael Bennet on Social Security

Preserve the integrity of entitlement programs

We need to take a serious look at reforming our entitlement programs. Social Security is our most successful retirement program and it provides the only path to a secure retirement for millions of Americans. Similarly,
Medicare is the only way to get quality health care for many Americans. We must find a way to preserve the integrity of these programs while reducing the increasingly large impact they have on the overall federal budget.

Strongly opposes privatizing or reducing benefits

I am working hard in Congress to preserve the long-term survival of Social Security, so that is remains solvent decades from now.

I strongly oppose privatizing Social Security or reducing Social Security benefits. We can work together to confront
Social Security's solvency challenge without taking these drastic, ill-conceived measures. A component for guaranteeing the long-term viability of Social Security is to get our nation's fiscal house in order, without raiding Social Security to do it.

The Christian Coalition voter guide [is] one of the most powerful tools Christians have ever had to impact our society during elections. This simple tool has helped educate tens of millions of citizens across this nation as to where candidates for public office stand on key faith and family issues.

The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security tax in private retirement accounts"

Scoring system for 2014: Ranges from 0% (supports privatization and other market-based reforms) to 100% (supports keeping federal control over Trust Fund and Social Security system).

About ARA (from their website, www.RetiredAmericans.org):

The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nationwide organization, founded in May 2001, with now over 4.2 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics, and institutions that shape our lives. The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.

Alliance members visit the polls in record numbers. We use the power of our membership and our Congressional Voting Record to educate and mobilize seniors to elect leaders committed to improving the lives of retirees and older Americans.

We are effectively warding off cuts to our most important social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Our Human Chain Against the Chained CPI events in the summer of 2013 took place in more than 50 cities and mobilized support for stopping this cut to earned Social Security benefits.

We blocked the privatization of Social Security with our Social Security "Truth Truck" delivering 2.1 million petitions to Members of Congress and other tactics.

The Alliance makes its voice heard on the issues that matter not just to current retirees, but to all Americans who hope to retire one day. We were a leading voice in recent debates considering changes to Medicare, like replacing guaranteed benefits with a voucher system, and remain so in 2014.